What Are You Going To Do With Your 365 Photos?

What does 365 mean to me?

It means focus. And attention. It means remembering each and every day to pause for at least 1/50th of a second to point my lens in the direction of something in my life. The small details and the big moments.

Sometimes the photos seem meaningless today. The snap of my keyboard. The photo of the glass on the counter. The desk in all its messiness. The shoes at the front door. The numbers on my house. The tree in the midst of dropping its leaves to the ground.

I know something about those photos. I know something that will happen someday. Maybe not next year, but perhaps in ten and definitely in 20.

I’ll look back at what appear to be mundane images. I’ll look back on the smallest details and be transported to today. I’ll see things that no longer exist in my life. I’ll see things that mattered on one day that have exited my life on others. I’ll see relationships as they were. Smiles before they aged. Toys before they were broken or discarded. I’ll see memories I might otherwise forget.

And for all of those memories I’ll be thankful. Very, very thankful!

Knowing how to keep all of these memories will help keep my project going throughout the year. It is easy to become overwhelmed with your volume of photos. Knowing your plans and setting interim goals along the way will help you keep up with the project.

It is also okay to leave your photos in a folder on your computer. If that works for you. Just begin with intention.

There are a lot of options:

Blog your daily photos

Many people choose to blog their daily photos. Some with a dedicated photo blog while others incorporate their photos into their personal blogs. A few of my favorites are:

Scrapbook with a Template

If you scrapbook, you can place them into a template. I love the ease of this option. I’ve used different templates each year. I’ve learned the simpler the page, the easier it is to use this option. Here are a few of my favorites:

Anna Aspnes – Anna’s 2011 Template Album allows for the flexibility of missing a day here or there. I love that!

I changed my 2011 templates depending on the photos. I love the look but it created a lot more work.

Scrapbook Freestyle

Are you feeling extra creative? You can place your photos on your own page designs. Change it up each week if you’d like. Really make it your own. I started with Anna Aspnes’ 2011 template and changed it often. This was a bit more time and effort than I will put into the project in 2012.

Print Them

Old school is still cool! Print your photos as the year progresses and you have tangible proof of your project. There are many fun things you can do with them. I’ve got even more ideas on the CaptureYour365 Pinterest Board.

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18 Comments

Cropdog has a new members-only calendar template, so I may try that for each month of 2014 as a summary page. But scrapped or pocket pages as I go along for an ongoing account of life details. Don’t have a blog, but maybe that would be a good idea another year, after I retire.

This will be my first time doing 365 so I don’t plan to do anything except maybe share them online to keep me accountable. Some will get scrapped but I don’t want the extra committment of a scrapbooking project to get in the way of the photos.

Since it’s the first time I’ll try it, I’m thinking of having a layout for each week with multiple photos or only one story – very flexible – and then I’ll add them to a photobook in the end of 52 weeks.

I have been making weekly scrapbook pages of my Project 365 photos, mostly freestyle though I have often used various templates. I sure get tempted by the Project 365 products available though, and keep thinking I might use one of those kits to make my entire photobook coordinate page to page.

I also blogged my photos for half of my first year of Project 365 (2009) but found that too much. However, as I’m focusing on improving my photography, I really want feedback on my photos, so I’m thinking of finding a place to post them online again.

I still haven’t finalized my plans for my 2012 Project 365. Thanks for the ideas and examples!

This is my first year doing this, and I am just looking to find some inspiration in my life. I will probably scrapbook them at some point, but for right now, I want this to be a look at real life. I want to see the mundane in my life, and I want to see the stupendous moments. I want to finish this year and have a real sense of what our lives are about. My childhood memories are somewhat of a blur to me, and in 20 years, I want to remember what a mess my desk is, because who knows, I may become OCD in my later years…LOL! Probably not, but could happen. I am so glad I found this, and I look forward to 365 +1 pictures of real life!

I have always wanted to do one of these, but I always over think it. How do you find a good balance of subject matter? How do you choose the one photo of the day? What do you do with the rest of the photos? I was thinking of just using my phone for this project, and maybe even making a companion video to go with.

These are great questions Maureen! I think I have a post on every one 🙂 The great thing about 365 is that you can really make it your own. I try to keep my process simple. I grab any subject that is in good light and compels me, some days they aren’t wonderful. Some days I love them. I love the idea of phone and a video. I find video much simpler and cheaper than printing. Excited to see what you create.

I will be putting my 365 into book form through Blurb. I have some catch up to do for 2011 but want to make sure to stay current in 2012 so I don’t feel overwhelmed like I do now. I dislike being behind…

Project life all the way! Just finishing up my 2011 project life right now. I may blog some of the photos, started out that way last year but it got to be too much. Loving the idea of a shutterfly book at the end as well, though. I may try a book with persnickety prints if it’s not too expensive. I’ve been using them to print my December daily photos and the quality is outstanding!

2012 will be my first year participating in Capture Your 365, but I did the Picture of the Day for my Project Life album in 2011. I am doing another PL albumfor 2012 but will also be adding a section on my blog specifically for Capture Your 365. I hope to do a weekly blog post showing the previous week’s pictures and maybe the story behind them. Still figuring out the details. Really excited to be part of this community this coming year!

I’ll be putting them into Project Life again. This year was my first PL year and it really works for me – I love to be able to see all of the photos printed out. It does take some time and work each week but that has become time I treasure, escapist I suppose. I’m actually caught up with this year’s, just one week left!

I am really having a difficult time deciding. I know that Digital would be much easier for me to manage. In the past, I have just posted them to my blog album with a little note, then later I created a year in review book with my favorites. This year I would like to keep some memorable, but I am little afraid that I will give up on a paper version… Any thought would be appreciated.

I say go with what you know will be easiest. Take as much of the project out of it as you can to make it really fun. If digital works for you, then go digital! I’m often tempted by paper but I know I don’t get to it as easily. It stacks up and then I feel less than successful. Go with what works for you!

I began a blog a few month ago. I’m going to try and post my daily photo there as well. If I can’t keep up with the daily posting I may do it weekly. We’ll see how it all unfolds. Either way, I’m really excited about P366 and can’t wait to share.